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Wednesday, June 4, 2008
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Clear Creek Reservoir closed to boating
The Pueblo Board of Water Works has closed Clear Creek Reservoir to boating to assess the zebra mussel problem, according to The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
The Pueblo Board of Water Works will close Clear Creek Reservoir to motorized boats on Saturday as a precaution against the spread of zebra mussels. The board is working with the Colorado Division of Wildlife and other agencies to develop a plan to resume boating, while at the same time guarding against introducing the mussels to the reservoir, said Paul Fanning, water board spokesman. The reservoir, located in northern Chaffee County, will reopen to motorized boating when a plan has been developed. Other activities on Clear Creek, such as paddled boats, float tubes and fishing from the shore, are not restricted...
Flows are coming into the reservoir faster than the outflow, which is typically under 345 cubic feet per second, [Alan Ward, water resources specialist] explained. However, the release gates of the reservoir have not been shut. The water board also released water from Clear Creek this spring in anticipation of a heavy runoff. There is a chance that native rights on the reservoir, which are very junior, could come into priority this year as well...
The water board's action follows what other municipalities that own reservoirs have been doing to prevent the spread of zebra mussels. Denver Water and Aurora have initiated inspection programs at Antero, Aurora and Quincy reservoirs, and have developed cooperative programs with the state at Eleven Mile and Spinney Mountain reservoirs. Colorado Springs has closed Rampart Reservoir to motorized boating. Colorado State Parks has initiated a statewide boat inspection program at major lakes, including Lake Pueblo, where dead zebra mussels on a boat being brought into the state from Michigan were discovered Sunday.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"colorado water"
6:04:08 PM 
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Moderate Voice: Let the battle to take back America begin
SquareState.net has the text of Barack Obama's speech last night in St. Paul. Here's a short excerpt: "All of you chose to support a candidate you believe in deeply. But at the end of the day, we aren't the reason you came out and waited in lines that stretched block after block to make your voice heard. You didn't do that because of me or Senator Clinton or anyone else. You did it because you know in your hearts that at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- we cannot afford to keep doing what we've been doing. We owe our children a better future. We owe our country a better future. And for all those who dream of that future tonight, I say -- let us begin the work together. Let us unite in common effort to chart a new course for America.
"The [Republicans] will come [to St. Paul] in September and offer a very different set of policies and positions, and that is a debate I look forward to. It is a debate the American people deserve. But what you don't deserve is another election that's governed by fear, and innuendo, and division. What you won't hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon -- that sees our opponents not as competitors to challenge, but enemies to demonize. Because we may call ourselves Democrats and Republicans, but we are Americans first. We are always Americans first."
The Moderate Voice: "Let the battle to take back America begin."
"2008 pres"
6:03:07 PM
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Northern Integrated Supply Project
Here's a look at the 'no action' alternative to building the Northern Integrated Supply Project, from The North Forty News. From the article:
Participants in the Northern Integrated Supply Project are crossing their fingers that the project will be approved. Opponents are hoping that the Army Corps of Engineers will choose the "no action" alternative and the project will go away. So, what happens if the project isn't built? The largest impact of "no action" would be the loss of irrigated farmland in northern Colorado, since growing communities would buy up more water from agriculture. Chandler Peter of the Army Corps said it's hard to predict just how much ag land would be lost to production, but the agency estimates the loss at 33,600 to 69,000 acres. Project opponents, including the Save the Poudre Coalition, say that water conservation and efficiency, on the part of both cities and agriculture, could have a dramatic impact on water demand, thereby protecting the rivers and slowing the loss of ag land. "We've reached the point where improved conservation and efficiency are going to be necessary if the region is going to continue to grow as it is," said Mark Easter, a botanist and member of the Sierra Club Poudre Canyon Group. Both sides agree that, whether or not NISP is built, cities and towns will continue to buy up ag water for their thirsty residents. Brian Werner of the Northern Water Conservancy District, which is spearheading NISP, said more ag land will go out of production in any case, but he'd prefer that not all the demand for domestic water be satisfied by drying up agriculture. Peter said it would be a mistake for the public to think that "no action" means that everything--including the Poudre River--would stay the same. Communities would look for other ways to obtain drinking water, and many of those would still impact the river.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.
"colorado water"
6:01:46 PM
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Climate Change: The earth is a beautifully complex system
From Science Blog: "NASA: We marginalized, mischaracterized climate change data." Here's the link to the NASA report [pdf].
More from Science Blog:
The supporting evidence detailed in this report reveals that climate change scientists and the majority of career Public Affairs Officers strongly believe that the alleged actions taken by senior NASA Headquarters Public Affairs officials intended to systemically portray NASA in a light most favorable to Administration policies at the expense of reporting unfiltered research results. Senior NASA Headquarters Office of Public Affairs officials (political appointees3) deny such actions, claiming that many of the proposed news releases were poorly written or too technical in nature for meaningful broad public dissemination.
With respect to NASA's climate change research activities, we found no evidence indicating that NASA blocked or interfered with the actual research activities of its climate change scientists. In contrast to our findings associated with the NASA Headquarters Office of Public Affairs, we found that NASA systematically distributed its technical climate change research throughout the scientific community and otherwise made it available through a variety of specialized forums, such as scientific journals, professional conferences, and public appearances by NASA scientists. Further, our recent audit of NASA's formal process for releasing scientific and technical data resulting from research conducted by its employees and contractors found no evidence that the process was used as a means to inappropriately suppress the release of scientific or technical data at the four NASA Field Centers reviewed.4 Of the 287 authors surveyed at those Field Centers, none indicated that they had experienced or knew of someone who had experienced actual or perceived suppression of their research by NASA management.5 In short, the defects we found are associated with the manner of operation of the NASA Headquarters Office of Public Affairs and are largely due to the actions of a few key senior employees of that office.
grist: "A new report from the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, finds that strong climate policy is a driver for a healthy economy."
"cc"
6:00:41 PM
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Southern Delivery System
Here's an update on Colorado Springs' proposed Southern Delivery System from The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
Geologic formations valued by scientists for fossils that hold clues about how mammals developed after the extinction of dinosaurs would be flooded if a reservoir east of Colorado Springs is built. The scientists say their concerns were given short shrift in the Bureau of Reclamation's draft environmental impact statement on the Southern Delivery System. Colorado Springs proposes using a site at Jimmy Camp Creek for terminal storage for a 43-mile water supply pipeline from Pueblo Dam. The reservoir appears in six of seven alternatives evaluated by Reclamation in the draft EIS and would be built several years after the construction of the pipeline.
Paleontologists are outraged, however, that a California consultant's suggestions were ignored in the report prepared for Reclamation by ERO Resources Corp. "The EIS does not adequately assess the valuable early plant, mammal and reptile fossils that are known to occur in the Jimmy Camp Creek valley," Kirk Johnson, chief curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, wrote in comments on the report to Reclamation. "In the absence of this assessment, the EIS does not adequately disclose the impacts of the proposed project to these regionally and globally significant paleontological resources." The site is valued because it is near one of the few places to observe the K-T boundary - a thin layer of deposits believed to be created after the impact of an asteroid with Earth that marks the end of the dinosaurs and the rise of mammals. Above that, in the area where the reservoir would be built, are fossils within sediments deposited shortly afterward. "The rocks were deposited in the first million years after the dinosaur extinction 65 million years ago," Johnson said. Johnson has dug for fossils in the area for more than a decade. Recently he and others convinced El Paso County officials not to allow a motorcycle trail park through the nearby Corral Bluffs because of the importance of preserving the area for further study of fossils. The draft EIS briefly addresses the fossil issue, saying, "Important paleontological resources would be adversely affected by Jimmy Camp Creek Reservoir."[...]
Reclamation also says a mitigation plan would be developed by Colorado Springs and its SDS partners - Security, Fountain and Pueblo West - to survey, monitor, prepare, identify and collect fossils. Work on the site could be delayed to allow full study under such a plan. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is mentioned as a partner. But given the treatment of paleontological recommendations in the draft EIS, Johnson and his colleagues are not confident the proposed mitigation would be sufficient. Johnson said he would prefer not to have a reservoir on the site, but if it is constructed, the digging could produce a treasure trove of fossils.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"colorado water"
6:34:46 AM
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Northern Integrated Supply Project
Here's an update on Glade Reservoir and the proposed Northern Integrated Supply Project from The North Forty News. From the article:
Larimer County is suffering from a lot of eyestrain, as hundreds of people scour the 700-page environmental impact statement for the Northern Integrated Supply Project. If approved, NISP would supply domestic drinking water for 12 communities and water districts. Construction could begin by 2011, according to Brian Werner of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, which is spearheading the project. The participants' preferred alternative includes Glade Reservoir northwest of LaPorte and Galeton Reservoir northeast of Greeley. Projected cost for the project is $426 million. NISP has been controversial, especially with environmental groups, and the EIS includes many possible mitigations to offset negative impacts. Chandler Peter of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, permitting agency for NISP, said if a permit is granted it will come "with a number of conditions." The EIS lists four alternatives, including the "no action" alternative. The Army Corps is required to choose the least environmentally damaging practicable alternative. The project is predicted to satisfy water needs of the partners until 2025 or 2030. Several partners are also pursuing other sources of drinking water.
From The North Forty News: "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has scheduled a third public hearing for the Northern Integrated Supply Project, a water-storage project that would include Glade Reservoir northwest of LaPorte. The additional hearing date is June 16, 6 p.m., at the Hilton Fort Collins. An open house will precede the hearing from 4 to 6 p.m...Other hearings have been scheduled for June 17 at the Fort Collins Senior Center, with the same schedule as the Hilton; and for June 19 in Greeley. There will be no formal presentation about NISP or the draft EIS at the hearings. The public will be invited to submit either oral or written comments, with oral comments limited to five minutes per person."
More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.
"colorado water"
6:20:17 AM
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Energy policy: Nuclear
Here's an update on reaction to HB 08-1161 in northern Colorado from The North Forty News. From the article:
A coalition of local legislators was critical to passage of a bill imposing stricter standards for developing and reclaiming uranium-mining operations, such as the one proposed in Weld County between Nunn and Wellington. Gov. Bill Ritter on May 20 signed into law House Bill 1161 following its passage by overwhelming margins in the state legislature. House co-sponsors were Fort Collins Democrats Randy Fischer and John Kefalas. Republican Steve Johnson and Democrat Bob Bacon carried the measure in the senate. The bill mandates that in-situ leach uranium mine operators meet stringent standards to prevent groundwater contamination and to assure that water remains at its original or better quality after they leave. "I think it does accomplish all or most of what we intended," said Fischer. "If not, we may be back next year or some time in the future." "Powertech can live with it," said company president Robert Clement...
Organized as Coloradoans Against Resource Destruction, opponents recruited a diverse allegiance of allies including U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, the Larimer County Medical Society and the Fort Collins City Council--which passed a resolution opposing the project. The Wellington Town Board also passed resolutions opposing the nearby uranium mine and supporting House Bill 1161. Powertech in full-page newspaper advertisements challenged the credibility of the Fort Collins City Council resolution, insisting there was no substantiation for claims that in-situ extraction holds "inherent risks for groundwater contamination." CARD pressed legislators for the bill in concert with groups such as the Colorado Water Congress, Colorado Counties Inc., Denver Water, Environment Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, according to outreach chair Jackie Adolph.
Although clearly directed at in-situ leach uranium mining, the bill also for the first time subjects conventional uranium mines to the same state oversight and standards applicable to other types of mines. Under the legislation, those seeking in-situ leach uranium-mining permits must inform property owners within three miles of the mine sites of their intentions. Previously notification was limited to neighboring property owners only. Applicants must present proof that similar mines have operated successfully in a contained manner without causing pollution of the groundwater. Existing site conditions must be documented along with a plan for continued monitoring of the affected land and groundwater. Mining companies would be required to restore that groundwater to original or even more demanding state standards. Permits would be denied to those who could not demonstrate that ability. Reclamation must be completed within five years after it begins...
Powertech's Clement said his company and the Colorado Mining Association helped shape the legislation and offered some amendments that were adopted. "Originally it was not the quality of legislation that would be good for the state or the industry," he said. "They helped to make the bill better in some ways," Fischer acknowledged, but added, "I think they would have preferred weaker groundwater standards." "We can achieve the goals set forth in the legislation with the current technology," Clement said. He also said that meeting the conditions contained in the legislation would result in using 20 percent more water in the mining operation than originally expected.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.
"2008 pres"
6:15:38 AM
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David Horton: The river is pushy
From KOAA.com: "The Arkansas River is expected to crest on Wednesday night. In Canon City, officials are prepared for the worst, but don't expect any major flooding. Meanwhile, rafters are looking forward to an exciting season...Melting snowpack and rain has pushed it to flood stage, and the water is still swelling. [Steve Morrisey Director of Emergency Management for Fremont County] says, 'We're looking at it to crest Wednesday evening, maybe for a day or two, it will stick around 4,000 CFS. By Saturday, we expect it to drop below flood zone.'"
Here's the link to the USGS Water Watch website.
From The Grand Junction Free Press: "Water levels in the Colorado River will near flood stage this evening and peaks are expected throughout tonight and into tomorrow, June 4, according to a Mesa County news release Tuesday afternoon. The release said the peak will likely be higher than what was seen locally around May 23. The county said Collbran, Plateau Creek along highways 65 and 330, Plateau Creek at the Colorado River confluence, and Interstate 70 in DeBeque Canyon and mile marker 16, will be monitored over the coming days."
From The Mountain Mail: "'The water level is pushy,' David Horton a 14-year Salida resident, said after taking a kayak outing Monday afternoon on the Arkansas River...At 6 p.m. Monday, the river at Salida was running at 3,090 cfs...In terms of flooding at Salida, the Arkansas River flow was measured at 3,110 cfs at midday Monday, with river height at 6 feet. The full bank level at Salida is 5.5 feet. Official flood stage established by the National Weather Service in the Salida area is 9 feet, or about 7,500 cfs. A National Weather Service flood warning was in effect for the Arkansas River at Cañon City beginning at noon Monday, continuing until further notice. At 8 p.m. Monday the river stage was 9 feet in Cañon City and the flow was 3,630 cfs...Another area of concern, Gray said, is Wellsville, about five miles east of Salida. He said water level was at 6.76 feet about 6 p.m. Monday. Flood stage is 9 feet. River flow was 3,300 cfs."
"colorado water"
6:04:43 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 10:20:47 PM.
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